I’m banging my head against a wall

[Sparklingwineandcheese]

DD is going to do A levels. She wants to go to Uni and study Sports science or similar.

She was planning to take PE, Media and Eng Lit/Lang at A level. Suddenly she’s decided actually she wants to drop English and do Business instead.

I am really worried about these choices, as two of them seem quite fluffy, and neither seem to lend themselves to Sports science. Also, looking at some Unis they won’t even accept PE for a sports science degree, they want Science or Psychology. Some seem to be ok with PE and whatever else as long as she hits the grades.

I have never been to Uni myself and this is my first child going this way.

It is also like talking to a plank of wood. She will not listen that what she’s doing is a real mishmash of subjects and I don’t want 2 years down the line, her to be rejected by anywhere half decent

I am really concerned that PE alone is not going to be enough to get her a place

I would certainly expect that most unis want a science for sports science - biology for choice - but have you looked? What kind of grades is she likely to get - I mean obvs you don't know for A level, but for GCSE?

Is she more 5-6-7 or 7-8-9? If the latter, she might be aiming at more popular unis. Lboro is the obvious one and I see its typical offer is A-star AA and it asks for two sciences (list includes PE). Otoh Sheffield Hallam which is a well-respected course with a good sports offer asks BBB-BBC with one from its science list (inc PE).

So she is not shutting all doors. There are alternative courses with lower offers at many unis as well (for example Loughborough offers a course on sports science and coaching with an offer of AAB).

How would she do with (for example) biology? What is her likely GCSE grade? If it's less than a 7 it might not be the best idea anyway - better to take three A levels you will do well in. Did she take business GCSE? Media?

It's not my area, but there seem to be a range of sports related degrees; Sports & Excercise Science, Sports Business Management, Sports Journalism, Sport PE & Coaching science, Sport Media, Sports communication & marketing etc.

I'd have a look at individual course entry requirements for courses she thinks she'd consider and go from there.

She’s quite bright, I think she will be 7-8-9 at GCSE, but she’s quite insistent that she’s not doing a science for A level (I have no idea why)

Ive had a look and some will accept PE as an entry, some want 2 sciences (ie PE and another science)

I am just very worried that at the end of 2 years she won’t get into a good Uni based on her choices now

Well if she is not keen on a science A level then it's better not to do one - I got good grades in science at 16 but would not have enjoyed the A level.

As long as she is fully aware that she is closing some doors - to sports science in particular (as opposed to the variants @Hatfullofwillow and I have mentioned) at some unis - then she needs to be making the decision. Talk to her by all means but it's her choice.

PE A level counts as a science for lots of unis. I am usually the first to tell people off for saying subjects are soft but, in her case, her choices are a little odd. Do they offer sociology or psychology at her school? Not straight sciences, especially not sociology, but seem a better fit to me than both her other choices.

A lot of sport science degrees are highly competitive entry so she really ought to look at a few prospectuses and read up in requirements.

They do both psychology and Sociology. Neither of which she wants to do (I have suggested psychology)

I have no idea why she’s doing Media, but I think the teacher is very charismatic and it’s interesting.

Shes done Business in GCSE, and enjoyed it, but I’d personally prefer she did psychology or the English.

She does do gymnastics coaching and I’m going to get her to do her lifeguard qualifications so that there is some substance to her application.

I personally think she is put off by lots of writing and by the English teacher.

Im not happy with the choices, I was against media from the start

I’m not going to lie, I am actually getting quite angry with her, because every conversation I have involves a sulking face and “it’s not fair”

She says she can’t manage to do the work for Biology, she found psychology boring, ditto sociology and “why does she have to do A levels she hates” I’ve pointed out that Media and business do not scream “I want to make sports my life” nor does English but it is at least respected as a subject.

She won’t accept she may need to suck it up for 2 years and do a subject she doesn’t love for the bigger picture.

Now she’s on about apprenticeships after A level, which is something I think will be a struggle to find.

There is nothing wrong at all with media A level! It would be fine for her if there was PE and perhaps psychology or biology or sociology or whatever.English is totally different. There is lots of writing in media , too...

I'm a bit flummoxed why she wants to do a sports science degree if she doesn't want to do any of the main A levels that are most like what and how she will study! Has she given any attention to the word science in the degree title?

Obviously she might change her mind in which case media and business are fine.

She should know that there is a lot of biology in A level PE. Ds2 did both PE and biology A level and always joked he was doing double biology (he loves it tho and does it at uni).

Agree with piggy BTW, nothing wrong with media and it's no easier than English. But has she looked closely at what is in sports science? If biology is hated it may not be the best choice.

This is the thing, her PE GCSE was very heavy on science, she’s actually not bad at it, and she knows there is loads of it in the A level.
She isn’t dreadful at Science, but she finds it more of a slog and I said that PE will cross over a lot with biology and it may not be as hard as she thinks.

I think she’d do better with Psychology. I’ve done that and can assist a bit, but as the title says, it’s like banging my head.

She wants to do Personal training, that kind of thing.

'Good' unis, by the way, will select based on meeting requirements ( ie any specific sporting ones and subjects studied meeting what that ask for) and grades noth at GCSE and A level. Once they have, for example, the required science, they won't care what else the applicant has.

But the different story is whether the applicant will enjoy the scientific, psychological and sociological aspects of the course.

Just looked at Birmingham, for its less scientific degree. They provide a list of subjects. The more you do, the lower the offer.With her choices, she would have one, so would get the highest offer.

Stop getting angry for a kick off! It will get no-one anywhere at all!

There is no point in her doing A-levels that do not interest her - she will not put in the work and that will waste 2 years. She is quite right about that not being fair. Also there is no reason at this stage why she should know exactly what she wants to do at uni - she is very young and lots of young people are in this situation.

Has she received any advice from school? - might be better for it to come from them as they are not so emotionally invested and liable to get annoyed.

Tell her you are pleased that she is staying on for A-levels and that you will support her in any way you can. One of the problems with you being so openly fraught about it all is that, if she does change her mind and need to swap an A-level, she is less likely to do it as she will fear an "I told you so", whether voiced or implicit.

Her idea about an apprenticeship makes total sense - she might feel she wants to be more hands on in a field, and she might not be wanting to take on a huge debt. All sounds reasonable.

Let her do the A-levels she feels interested in and use some of that time to research apprenticeships or uni, so she has a bit more facts at her fingertips. It will also give her 2 years to mature a bit - they change a lot during that time.

I have 3 adult DDs, and I was very hands-off when it came to A-levels. I realised how young they were and that they could not be expected to have a clear path mapped out. I also knew that youth was on their side and they had time to change their minds when they were a bit more mature. One took a year out afterwards to do an extra A-level as she had become aware that this was where her path lay - it proved very advantageous as she already had 3 A-levels under her belt when it came to uni applications; another had a change of heart about her degree subject at the 11th hour and chose differently in the end - no problem - she was able to show a good study track record; the other did A-levels that she really enjoyed and then went off at a total tangent afterwards, entering the world of business - she surprised us all! They are all happy adults with partners, families and good careers.

Above all else I gave them permission to be the 17 year olds they were, to gently guide if needed, but otherwise to back them up and help them to feel that they were able to make their own choices and that nothing was totally irrevocable.

Unless they are seeking a science career, or medicine or one that has very specific qualification needs, then A- level study is a good thing per se - it demonstrates to future educational institutions or employers that they can apply themselves to study.

I honestly think you need to relax a bit about this ......

Tbh I have let her go her own path with all her exam choices. It’s just that in the last couple of days I decided to actually look at the degree she wants to do, and it dawned on me that with what she wants to take she’s in for a tricky ride.
Tgere are a lot of Unis that will accept only PE, which is great, but I’m worried she will compete again others with better choices and lose out.
I did look at Leeds and St Mary in Twickenham, which seemed more the places she could go.

I am just worried in 2 years there will be a whole lot of upset when it’s not enough 😔

Dp teaches sports science on a very popular course and it is very science based. A lot of it is based on biochemistry so I'd be quite worried if she was saying no to a science a level it might be too much of a jump for her

Yes. I am worried. Her argument seems to be that the science aspect in PE interests her, whereas “biology” doesn’t. She likes the science of the body and its functions, photosynthesis not so much!

I am just worried in 2 years there will be a whole lot of upset when it’s not enough 😔

I honestly think you should stop worrying. She is young - if she has to slot in an extra A-level at some point that is fine. Locking horns over this, or trying to get her to do subjects she actively does not want to do is a hiding to nothing.

I would get her to make a spreadsheet of all the unis she is considering and what subjects they are asking for and their entry grades. Then she can see looking at the overall picture if she is going to do herself a disservice by choosing the A levels she wants. She might also want to look at the unis themselves at this stage too, city, big, small, campus etc. Plus teachers come and go, pregnancy, illness, a better job offer etc can all take a teacher away from that school so that media teacher may not even last the course.

The other thing she needs to consider is who she is up against when she is applying to the uni who say only PE because a large number of the applicants may also have Biology and that uni may prefer to offer to those applicants above someone with just PE. Yes, I know it won't say that on their website but they may just tell you they have a preference for certain things when you speak to them. Have a dig around, there is often information on the uni website or just online as to what A levels their successful applicants have. Usually I would suggest contacting admissions but with A levels out in 2 days you can't do that for a good while as they will be dealing with this years intake.

During October and February half terms the unis will have all their students there due to their term dates so if you fancy just having a walk round the campus or city of any uni on her list it might be a way to see the reality of the uni. Or a weekend visit, their are self guided tours, details on the uni websites. Most open days take place when the uni is closed to their students so campus unis can feel a bit dead, and no it is never too early to look.

I wouldn't go to uni to end up as a PT. It's not fantastically well paid and you can do the courses you'd need very cheaply whilst working at a gym. It's a lot of debt to end up with for not much return.

I’m not sure what she ultimately wants to do. At one point she wanted to be a PE teacher, now a Personal Trainer. I think the thing is she knows she wants to do sport based stuff, but she’s not sure what.

Im on the fence with Uni, I just don’t want her getting to X and not moving to Y because she doesn’t have a degree. I don’t have one and I sincerely wish I did!

well if she wants to be a teacher she certainly needs a degree. She should be aware that PE teaches is about the one area of teaching where there is not a shortage of staff.

I tend to agree with this. Also sports science is a very popular course yet I don't see it leading directly to high paid jobs. Instead a lot seem to end up doing a physiotherapy masters and I wonder why they didn't just do an undergrad in physiotherapy to begin with. That said OP I would leave her to it. She may have limited her options but she still has options with those a-level choices. And she may well end up taking a different route anyway.

Just going to give a slightly different perspective.

I have one DC who didn’t do as well as expected in A levels as according to them they “chose the wrong subjects”. They did Biology, Maths and Economics. They are doing an Economics degree now and probably needed the Maths to get in but still regret taking Maths and Biology and wishes had taken Geography at GCSE so then done Geography, Politics and Economics at A level.

I have no doubt the A level grades would have been higher for them for these but whether they’d have been able to get onto a good Economics degree course is doubtful.

I wonder if they’d done a different combination of A levels whether they’d have picked a different degree.

As I’m sure you know some degree subjects are way more competitive than others.

I’d perhaps dig into possible career aims and maybe consider a broader degree subject that might be used for different potential paths?

My son was going to do a sport science degree. He is going into year 13 and took geography, business and psychology. He hated science and insisted he didn't want to do it at a level. I persuaded him to take psychology as lots of unis count this as a science. He has since decided he wants to do a sports management degree as he has realised, after attending some uni open days, that sports science is a lot of well ... science🤣. I have no idea what he will do with a sports management degree but he loves sport and really enjoys business and so we will see! Let her do what she enjoys.